Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Stephen Rivkin, ACE, who was one of the editors on James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash. The other editors included Cameron himself, Nicholas de Toth, Jason Gaudio, and John Refoua. 

Steve’s been on Art of the Cut before when we discussed the previous Avatar film – The Way of Water. Steve also edited the first Avatar film, for which he was nominated along with John Refoua and James Cameron for an Oscar, a BAFTA, and an ACE Eddie Award. He won an Eddie for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He was also nominated for ACE Eddies for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Other films include Alita: Battle Angel, Ali, The Hurricane, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and My Cousin Vinny. 

Today our discussion includes how the Avatar films use a unique two step process - first editing performance alone, then editing the final shots created with those performances, and on co-editing with the film’s director, James Cameron, ACE.

If you'd like to read along with this interview and see the trailer, video featurettes, clips and images from the film, visit the BorisFX.com website for the Art of the Cut blog.

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